BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's tennis team's title hopes are alive and well following day three of the ITA Atlantic Region Championships at the Burt Reese Tennis Center in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. 
 
The Rock will be represented in both championship matches as top-seeded Amaia Balaguer Brau punched her ticket to the singles final as did the tandem of Nicole Kempton and Alissia Kivi in the doubles competition. 
 
The day opened with a thrilling back-and-forth semifinals doubles match pitting Kempton and Kivi – the tournament's No. 3 seed – against the second-seeded pairing of Filippa Larsson and Sofia Krasikova of Charleston. 
 
In what was a back-and-forth bout for its duration, Kempton and Kivi ultimately outlasted their higher seeded counterparts for a 7-6 (7-5) triumph. SRU's first-year pairing, which have posted an impressive 9-1 record so far this season, will meet IUP's Dani Ramos and Ming Deewajee in Monday's championship match.
 
Following the doubles matches, the tournament moved on to its singles bracket that featured three Rock athletes – Balaguer Brau, Kivi and Dari Sakhanova – in the quarterfinals
 
Kivi's run ended with a hard-fought loss to Ramos 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 while Balaguer Brau got the better of Sakhanova 6-3, 6-1 in the Rock vs. Rock match. 
 
Following the win against her teammate, Balaguer Brau avenged Kivi's setback by downing Ramos to secure her spot in the singles championship match.
 
No stranger to championship matches, Balaguer Brau also played in the singles final at the 2023 ITA East Region Championships during her freshman year at Saint Thomas Aquinas. Balaguer Brau enters the singles championship with a seven-match winning streak and a 7-1 overall record in 2024.
 
Day four of the 2024 ITA Atlantic Region Championships is set to begin with the doubles final 10 a.m. Monday followed by the conclusion of the singles bracket. The winners of both disciplines move on to compete in the prestigious ITA Cup Oct. 10-13 in Rome, Georgia.




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